Russia May Be Involved in the Second Peace Summit

After the signing of the communiqué, partners are forming working groups on the three points outlined in the document. It is now expected that thematic events on each topic will be held separately at the ministerial and advisor levels. According to Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva, France, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Norway, Poland, Canada, Qatar, Chile, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom are ready to help organize these meetings.

The Ukrainian side expects that once common solutions are developed, a second Peace Summit will take place. It is possible that representatives from Russia will be invited to this summit. Andriy Yermak mentioned that Ukraine is ready to present its peace plan to Kremlin representatives during the second leaders’ meeting. Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Russia’s presence at the second Peace Summit would indicate their desire to end the war.

“You ask what will happen with Russia at the second Summit? It will indicate that they want peace. Their presence there will show that they have decided to end the war. I don’t want to play with words: whether they decided or the world forced them… We are fighting for the world to force them, but for us, the main thing is the result. The result is the end of the war,” emphasized the Ukrainian leader.

Zelenskyy wants the next Peace Summit to take place “in months, not years.” Possible locations for the meeting include the UAE or Saudi Arabia. It is currently unknown how exactly they plan to involve Moscow in this conference, considering that the discussion will center on Zelenskyy’s peace formula, with which Russia clearly disagrees.

According to Ihor Zhovkva, during the second Summit, all points of Zelenskyy’s formula will be considered, including “fixing the results of Ukraine’s victory, peace, and the end of the war.” Due to this, it is difficult to predict whether Kremlin representatives will agree to discuss Ukraine’s plan.

Amid the possible victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis stated that the next Peace Summit could take place before that time, specifically before November 2024. However, Ukraine is advised not to rush with the meeting where Russia could be directly involved, particularly because of the importance of negotiating from a position of strength and the absence of signals from Moscow about their interest in sustainable peace.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte believes that Moscow should be engaged in dialogue, but there must be conditions for this. “The strong message today is that peace is only possible if Russia adheres to the basic norms and values that concern us all,” Rutte emphasized.